When All Hope Is Gone
by farawisa
Summary: Clint doesn't work for SHIELD on his own free will. He is forced to work there and spy on the people he by now considers friends. Why does he do it? What is keeping him from cutting free? And how do the others react when they find out? Clint/Phil


**AN:** This is a story based on a prompt on cc-feelsmeme. Prompt goes as follows:

Clint/Coulson, indentured service to SHIELD

cc-feelsmeme. livejournal 1635. html? thread= 131939#t131939

Either willingly or not so willingly (preferable) Clint is indentured into service with SHIELD. The thing is very few people are aware of this and Phil is one of these people. When/if Phil and the Avengers (and Fury?) find out how do they react, and how does Clint react to them knowing. Also, if he's not there by choice, exactly what is it that's keeping him from breaking free?

Hope this is what the OP was looking for.

. o 0 o .

The day Clint Barton's life came crashing down around him, had actually started quite normally. He had gotten up and into work early, been on the range for a few hours and then he had sparred with Tasha and Cap, before going to lunch with his handler. Lunch with Phil was one of the few non-mission related contacts with him that They allowed and he wasn't about to give that up. He would take all the time he got to have with the man he loved, even if Phil would never know, could never know, or else They would take his baby-girl from him. And lunch was only allowed so long as he didn't tell Phil a word about what was happening to him and their daughter. Phil didn't even know that they had a daughter, that the one-night-stand they had had nearly eleven years ago had gotten him knocked up and that Clint had kept the baby, even if the only reason for this had been that he had not known what else to do.

By now he wouldn't have it any other way, even if she was the only reason that some of the council were still able to have him under their thumb as a spy against the other agents of SHIELD and even the director. They knew that he would do everything to keep his little girl safe. Do every mission They send him on, no matter how dangerous it was, because only as long as he did would he be able to see his daughter once a month for three hours in an environment controlled by Them with guards that made sure he kept his side of the bargain and didn't do anything fishy. There were times when he despaired about this, mostly the evening after he had to let go of his little girl again, but this was preferable to the alternative.

The alternative was never seeing Stella again and being in a lab being experimented on, because so far it seemed like he was the only male in the world that had been able to get pregnant and some scientists would just love to dissect him and find out how that was possible. Or maybe they would just vivisect him. Clint shuddered at that thought, he always did.

It was after lunch that his day went to hell. The Avengers had been called to assemble and as they arrived at the scene, Clint immediately realized that they were in the neighbourhood They kept his daughter at when it was visitation day. Which it was today. Fuck.

In fact, Clint could see the house from his perch and he could also see two of the goons that were normally present through the windows. Then there was a flicker of light brown hair and Clint's heart stopped. His daughter was in the fighting zone. She was in danger and he couldn't do a thing. He took a moment to retch up his lunch.

"Barton?" he heard Phil's voice in his ear. "Everything alright?"

"Just peachy," Clint replied, his voice shaking for a moment, before he got himself under control. He couldn't let the others find out, not one of them. These people would spirit his girl away, before he could do anything. Clint swallowed heavily. He had a job to do. He had to make sure that no harm came to the building that had his daughter in it and if it was the last thing he did.

Half an hour later, Clint had to watch helplessly as the Hulk got thrown into the building he had kept at least in his peripheral vision the whole time. His heart skipped another beat and then he was off the roof after firing another two exploding arrows at the creatures they were fighting, taking the last of them out. He sprinted the half mile, hearing Phil swear in his ear about leaving his post, and reached the building just as the Hulk came out of the rumble with something in his hands. He was very careful as he laid down the unconscious little girl directly at Clint's feet.

"Little Birdie is hurt," the Hulk whispered and looked down ashamed as if it was his fault. Clint sank to his knees and cradled his daughter close, checking her over, there was blood that was seeping from a head wound, that most likely was the reason for her unconsciousness. He knew that people were watching, but his girl was hurt and he just couldn't…

A moment later, paramedics were with him, prying her brutally from his grip and taking her away, not even asking if he wanted to come with them.

His comm unit crackled, a sign that SHIELD just lost his unit and someone else was using it.

"Agent Barton, your right to see your daughter has been revoked until further notice after your little display here. Should you attempt to see her or stop following orders…," the voice in his ear trailed off and Clint knew exactly what they wanted to tell him. He sagged to the ground, face buried in his hands, despair easily visible in his whole frame. He had lost her.

"Clint?" he heard Phil ask, but his voice came from far away. He had failed her. He had failed her and Phil both, because it had been his job to keep Stella safe and secret and now this had happened. "Clint what was that?"

"Nothing," Clint answered, his voice hoarse. "Nothing, just some little girl that got hurt in the rumble."

A moment later, Iron Man was standing in front of him and helping him up.

"You okay?" Tony asked as he carefully brushed Clint off.

"Yeah," Clint said. "Back to the tower?"

Tony nodded and they all made their way back to the quinjet, leaving the clean-up to other SHIELD agents.

The moment they reached the tower, Clint locked himself in the shooting range, unable to look at the others until he had gotten himself under control again.

It had happened before; They had taken his right to see his girl away exactly two times before. The first time had been after Budapest and a mission that had gone so spectacularly pear-shaped, that it was nearly laughable. Then he hadn't seen his girl for seven weeks.

The second time had been after Loki. That had been eight months. Since then he had only seen his Stella twice. Today should have been his third time, but now that was gone and all his hope with it.

. o 0 o .

The Avengers plus Fury and Coulson, minus Clint, were in the conference room in the tower two hours later. Tony had made sure that no one was listening in, since he was sure that something fishy was going on and he didn't want anyone but the six people in the room know that they knew that something was up.

"What is this about, Stark?" Fury asked. He didn't like being ordered here and didn't make a secret of it.

"This is about you explaining to us what is up with our resident archer," Tony said, his fury barely concealed. "Why didn't we know that he has a daughter? And what was she doing in the fighting zone and why was she being taken away from him? Why is he not with her right now? Why are _you_ not with your daughter right now?"

The last was growled at Phil who just frowned at him.

"I don't have a daughter, and neither has Barton," he said, for the first time that Tony saw, utterly bewildered.

"Yes, you do," Tony said, holding up a small vial of blood. "I collected this when I helped Clint up after he had checked over the girl. It's her blood and a test shows me that somehow, I don't know how, you are both her fathers. So what the hell is going on?"

Phil stared at him and then his gaze travelled up to the air vent, when they heard a gasp from there. Only a moment later, Phil was out of his seat and had pulled the vent open and Barton out.

"What is going on, Barton?" Fury barked and Clint shrunk in on himself, a reaction none of them had ever seen from him.

"Just drop it, please, I beg you," he whispered after a long moment of silence in which the other Avengers and their boss all stared at him. He couldn't bring himself to look at Phil, too afraid what he might see there.

"Is it true, Clint?" Phil asked, his voice without any inflection. "Do we have a daughter?"

"Please," Clint begged again, not looking at anyone.

"Someone has their daughter hostage, most likely held her for the last nine to eleven years, because that is how old she looked. They have been blackmailing Clint with her and no one is supposed to find out that she even exists, especially not Phil or there are repercussions. For as long as we have been working together, there's one afternoon a month where he is unavailable, most likely is he allowed to see her then. For seven weeks after Budapest and eight months after Loki, he didn't take his afternoon, so they most likely took his right to see her away to punish him for messing up in some way and they did the same today…," Natasha trailed off and was out of her chair in a moment and in front of Clint. "Oh my god, Clint, I'm so sorry."

She pulled him against her and he just broke down and mourned his daughter. There was no point anymore. Now his team knew and he would never get to see her again and They would know and soon take him away as well.

"Who?" Fury growled. "Who did this and what have they do you for them?"

"I had to spy on you and the other agents as much as I could. They also sent me on missions. After Loki I had to spy on the Avengers as well," Clint said, feeling sick. Sure, he hadn't started working for SHIELD on his own free will, but he had started to like it here and after this there was no way he would be able to stay, even if some kind of miracle happened and the councilmen didn't get him. "I had to damage missions. Not so much that we lost agents, but information and I had to bring information to them and only abridged versions to SHIELD. I'm sorry."

Clint looked down to the floor.

"Who?" Fury asked again, dangerously quiet. Clint just shook his head mutely. The director came around the table with his tablet in hand, pictures on it. He made Clint look at them one after the other. After they were through he looked at Natasha.

"Heyers and Naroff," she said and Clint closed his eyes in pain. There went his chance of ever seeing his daughter again.

"Coulson, you are staying here with Barton. Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. Banner, you stay in the mansion as well. Any sign of trouble and I want you to Hulk out and keep them safe. Thor, you stay here as well. I'll also send over a few agents I know I can trust. The rest of you is with me."

He then went down on one knee in front of his agent.

"Barton, listen to me. All of this is like Loki not your fault. You did what you had to do to keep your daughter safe and that is all that counts for me. We will get her back for you and Coulson and we'll keep you safe and deal with Heyers and Naroff and everyone who is working with them, do you understand me?"

Clint nodded at Fury with wide eyes.

"There's a file in my bedroom. Just ask JARVIS where it is. All of you have authorization in case something happened. It'll help."

Fury nodded and then handed him off to Phil who was suddenly there as well and gently helped Clint to his feet and led him out of the room. As they left, Clint looked up at the people he would like to call his friends and saw only one thing reflected in their eyes. Grimm determination.

Phil led him into his own rooms after he had asked Tony to make sure that his room was clean as well.

Phil then led him further to the bathroom, where he proceeded to strip Clint and gently pushed him under the shower. He didn't say a word as he started to strip also and got into the stall as well. He held Clint up, when the younger man's legs gave out and pulled him close. There was nothing sexual about the way they were pressed to each other; it was just for comfort. After a few minutes under the spray, Phil reached for the shampoo and went to wash the grime of the day first out of their hair and then off their bodies. After he finished, he pulled Clint out of the shower and dried him and then took him to the bedroom where he handed him a pair of pyjamas and slipped into his own before he led him to the bed and carefully guided him down and against his chest.

"It's going to be okay," Phil whispered, the first words he had said since he had demanded to know if he really had a daughter with Clint. "The Avengers will do their job and get our little girl back and avenge what happened to the two of you and I will keep you safe from now on, if you'll let me."

Clint screwed his eyes shut against the tears, but they still fell and he fisted his hand in Phil's shirt, never wanting to let go, except to hold their Stella.

It took over an hour until Clint calmed down, Phil's hand a constant in his hair and on his back.

"How is she?" Phil asked after another fifteen minutes of silence. He did so in a whisper so that he wouldn't wake Clint in case the younger man had fallen asleep.

"She's the most amazing little girl possible. I called her Stella, because she's my little star, I hope that's okay. She has your eyes and hair colour and my nose and she's scarily smart and she told me that she can hit the bull's-eye every time in training, and they're training her, god, Phil, they're training her to shoot and fight and I couldn't say anything or I wouldn't get to see her and I couldn't tell you or they would have taken both of you away from me," Clint whispered, tears already chocking him again. Phil pulled him closed and gently asked Clint to tell him more about their daughter, the fun stuff for now, and Clint went on and on about her as much as he could until he fell asleep, too emotionally exhausted to stay awake.

Phil pulled him closer and mourned for Clint and Stella and what they had been through and cursed himself for never noticing that Clint was in trouble and such an emotional pain.

Half an hour later, the door to his rooms opened and Bruce entered.

"How is he?" the doctor asked quietly as he saw that Clint was asleep.

"Finally sleeping. He's worried sick about Stella and what they're doing to her right now, as am I. He's also worried about the future and about what will happen when we get her back," Phil answered.

"He'll stay here of course. Even if Fury throws him out of SHIELD, which I doubt, there's no way we will let him leave as long as he himself wants to stay," Bruce replied and there was a small smile tugging on Phil's lips.

"I hoped you would say that," Phil said.

"And you two?" Bruce went on. "Will you care for her together?"

"Assuming that Clint wants that, yes," Phil said and pulled the archer closer still. Clint's hand fisted in the agent's shirt a bit more, but otherwise he stayed asleep. Bruce smiled at them both and left as quietly as he had come. Phil smiled down at his archer and decided to try to get some sleep as well.

. o 0 o .

It wasn't until the next morning that the Avengers and Fury came back. Clint had woken several times, but Phil had been able to lull him back to sleep every time, even if Clint had to use the toilet and they both had to eat at one point.

The next morning, they were sitting at the breakfast table with Bruce and Thor and two other agents, when JARVIS's voice sounded above them.

"Sirs, the rest of the team is in the elevator with the director and mistress Stella," the AI said and Clint was out of his chair and on his way to the elevators with the others hot on his heels.

They saw the doors open when there was still the whole corridor between them and the doors and Clint saw her the same moment she saw him. She was in Natasha's arms and wriggled free easily and then she came running to him and he doubled his speed and met her in the middle of the corridor.

Clint fell to his knees in front of her and pulled her close, blindly reaching behind him for Phil, who came down to them willingly and pulled both of them in a hug. Clint peppered his daughter in kissed, relieved that he had her in his arms for the first time in his life without a bomb collar around either of their necks and the only people present his friends.

"Daddy that tickles," the little girl giggled and Clint laughed freely for the first time in ten years. The Avengers looked on, mesmerized by the sound. They had never seen or heard Clint that way and in this moment they vowed that they would do everything that their life could stay this way.

"Uncle Nick said, that I could stay with you, daddy," Stella whispered, her eyes big. Clint looked up at the director, eyes wide. The man only nodded and Clint could feel the tears well up in his eyes.

"Yes you can, baby, we're finally free now," he said, voice chocked. "I also want to introduce you to your other daddy. This is Phil. I told you why I couldn't tell him before, but now he knows and he wants to be your daddy too, is that okay?"

Stella looked at Phil for a long moment, then she asked in a voice more serious than any of them would have expected,

"Do you love my daddy?" Phil nodded at her. "Good. If you hurt him, they won't find the body. The bad people taught me."

Phil looked at the girl, eyes wide and then at Clint as she threw herself around his neck and hugged him as well.

"Sweetie, this behind me are Uncle Thor and Uncle Bruce," Clint said. The girl waved at them shyly. They smiled back and waved back.

"Welcome, little star," Thor boomed.

"Yeah, hello, little bird," Bruce said.

Phil surveyed his little, or not so little, family and caught Clint's eye. Yes, things would be difficult for a while until all the danger was over, but this would be more than worth it. Things were looking up now for all of them. They would get through this. Together.

-FIN-

Hope you liked it! Leave a note if you did, please! ^^


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